Depoliticising Schengen: the Iberian model and the ‘roads’ ahead

Introduction:

It was the 1985 Schengen Agreement that emphasised for the first time that ‘the ever closer union… should find its expression in the freedom to cross internal borders’. With the Schengen Area, the abolition of checks at common borders was a long-term goal that was soon achieved, following the harmonisation of border-check practices to transfer all controls to the external borders. This constitutes a fundamental pillar of the process of European integration and a major step forwards in the economic and social progress of the EU.

As a result, the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) integrated the Schengen acquis into EU law through Protocol 2. This, in turn, codified parallel regional integration through opt-outs for an already sceptic UK, whilst imposing on new member states the obligation to join Schengen, subject to an evaluation. Since then, two major challenges to the integrity and prospects of survival for freedom of movement have emerged. On the one hand, the temporary reintroduction of internal border controls across the continent, which has allowed executives to abuse the clauses in the Schengen Borders Code (SBC) to create de facto permanent internal borders. On the other hand, the systematic blocking of accession to the Schengen Area for Romania and Bulgaria, only partially lifted on 31 March 2024.